- hidalgonounChapter 1 →
A low-ranking Spanish nobleman, below the great lords but above common people, who held a hereditary title without necessarily having much money or land.
- poring overphraseChapter 1 →
Reading something with intense, absorbed concentration, giving it all of one's attention for a long stretch of time.
“he spent many a night from sunset to sunrise, and many a day from dawn to dusk, poring over his books”
- witheredverbChapter 1 →
Caused the mind or body to waste away and weaken, as if drying out from the inside.
“the lack of sleep and excess of reading withe…”
- knight-errantnounChapter 1 →
A wandering knight of medieval romance who travels the world seeking adventures, righting wrongs, and proving his valor without a fixed lord or mission.
“for a knight errant without a lady-love was a tree without leaves or fruit, a body without a soul.”
- turretsnounChapter 2 →
Small towers projecting from the walls or corners of a castle, often used for lookout or defense.
“To him it seemed neither more nor less than a castle with its four turrets and pinnacles of shining silver”
- pinnaclesnounChapter 2 →
Slender, pointed spires or decorative peaks rising from the top of a castle or tower.
“a castle with its four turrets and pinnacles of shining silver, not forgetting the drawbridge and moat”
- drawbridgenounChapter 2 →
A bridge at the entrance of a castle that can be raised or lowered to allow or block passage across the surrounding moat.
“not forgetting the drawbridge and moat and all the appurtenances with which such castles are…”
- appurtenancesnounChapter 2 →
The accessories, fittings, and additional features that naturally belong to and complete something, here the standard equipment of a proper castle.
“not forgetting the drawbridge and moat and all the appurtenances with which such castles are…”
- book of hoursnounChapter 2 →
A devotional book used in the Middle Ages containing prayers and psalms to be read at set times of day; here used to suggest a solemn, ritualistic manner of speaking.
“as if he were reading from a book of hours, raised his hand and gave him a good blow on the neck”
- curatenounChapter 3 →
A parish priest responsible for the spiritual care of a local community; in this novel, the village clergyman who is one of Don Quixote's concerned friends.
“The first that Maese Nicolás put into his hands was the four books of Amadís of Gaul. 'This seems a mysterious thing,' said the curate”
- chivalrynounChapter 3 →
The medieval code of conduct for knights, emphasizing bravery, honor, loyalty, and courtly devotion to a lady; also used to refer to the literary tradition of romances about such knights.
“this was the first book of chivalry printed in Spain”
- arableadjectiveChapter 4 →
Describes land that is suitable for growing crops; farmable land that has practical agricultural value.
“he sold many acres of arable land to buy books of chivalry to read”
- squirenounChapter 4 →
An attendant who serves a knight, carrying his equipment and assisting him on his adventures, ranking below the knight himself.
- sagenounChapter 5 →
A wise and powerful enchanter or wizard in the world of chivalric romance, believed to use magic to help or hinder knights.
“the same sage Frestón who stole my study and my books has turned these giants into mills, to rob me of the glory of their overthrow.”
- millstonenounChapter 5 →
A large, heavy circular stone used inside a windmill or watermill to grind grain into flour.
“what seem to be their arms are sails which, when they are whirled around by the wind, turn the millstone.”
- persecutesverbChapter 6 →
Relentlessly harasses and causes suffering to someone, here referring to a sorcerer who Don Quixote believes is his sworn magical enemy.
“That is the work of the sage Frestón, who persecutes me, and has put enmity between me and thy master.”
- enmitynounChapter 6 →
Deep, active hostility and hatred between two parties, the state of being enemies.
“That is the work of the sage Frestón, who persecutes me, and has put enmity between me and thy master.”
- galley slavesnounChapter 7 →
Prisoners condemned by the courts to row the king's war galleys as forced labor, chained to their oars as punishment for their crimes.
- ill-requitedadjectiveChapter 7 →
Poorly repaid or rewarded for a kindness or service; receiving ingratitude in return for a good deed.
“Don Quixote was not very well pleased to see himself so ill-requited by those for whom he had done so much.”
- distressed damselphraseChapter 8 →
A stock figure from chivalric romance: a young woman in danger or distress who appeals to a knight for rescue, triggering his duty to help her.
“She would play the distressed damsel so well that no knight-errant in the world could resist her appeal.”
- trappingsnounChapter 10 →
The decorative harness, saddle-cloth, and ornamental gear fitted onto a horse.
“As for the ass's trappings, I did not notice them particularly, and I cannot say if they were of the ordinary sort.”
- portcullisnounChapter 11 →
A heavy iron or wooden grating that slides vertically in grooves at a castle gateway and can be dropped quickly to block entry.
“He saw plainly that it was an inn and not a castle with a moat, towers, portcullis, and all the rest of it”
- pranknounChapter 11 →
A trick or practical joke played on someone, often at their expense and for the amusement of others.
“They were not at all sorry for the prank, but as much delighted with it as if it had been the most charming sport in the world.”
- penancenounChapter 12 →
A self-imposed act of suffering or hardship undertaken to show repentance or devotion, here performed by Don Quixote in imitation of the heroes of chivalric romances.
- gambadoesnounChapter 12 →
Wild leaps or capers, here acrobatic jumps performed to demonstrate extravagant, theatrical madness.
“he cut two gambadoes in the air, and two somersaults, heels over head, discovering such things as made Sancho turn…”
- somersaultsnounChapter 12 →
Acrobatic rolls in which the body turns head over heels in a complete circle, used here as a theatrical display of feigned madness.
“he cut two gambadoes in the air, and two somersaults, heels over head, discovering such things as made Sancho turn…”
- to this passphraseChapter 13 →
To this wretched or desperate state of affairs; 'pass' here means a difficult or ruinous situation someone has been brought to.
“Cursed be those books of chivalry, every last one of them, that have brought my master to this pass!”
- bestowedverbChapter 14 →
Formally given or granted something as a gift, especially by a higher power such as God or a ruler.
“Freedom, Sancho, is one of the most precious gifts that heaven has bestowed upon men”
Don QuixoteNovel by Miguel de Cervantes